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Interpol president resigns amid Beijing probe

Interpol President, Meng Hongwei, delivers his opening address at the Interpol World congress in Singapore on July 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

The Associated Press
Published Sunday, October 7, 2018 3:04PM EDT

LYON, France - Interpol says a Chinese official who was reported missing has resigned as head of the international police agency. The update came after Beijing announced Meng Hongwei was under investigation in China.

Interpol said Sunday night that Meng had resigned as president of the agency's executive committee, effectively immediately. It did not say why.

Meng is China's vice minister of public security. His whereabouts and status have been mysteries since his wife reported Friday that she had not heard from him since he went to China at the end of September.

The disciplinary organ of China's ruling Communist Party said Sunday night that Meng is "currently under the monitoring and investigation" of China's new anti-corruption body, for unspecified legal violations.

Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said the senior vice-president of its executive committee, Kim Jong Yang of South Korea, would become acting president.